Laterally movable car door



y 1951 F. DITCHFIELD 2,560,4fl9

LATERALLY MOVABLE CAR DOOR Filed Aug 11, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 /A/ vawrae FPQA/K D/TCHF/ELD July 10, 1951 F. DITCHFIELD 2,560,419

LATERALLY MOVABLE CAR DOOR FPQA/A D/TZHHEL 0 /W ML Jul 10, 1951 F. DITCHFIELD LATERALLY MOVABLE CAR DOOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 11, 1945 f 11 V g J ly 1951 F. DITCHFIELD 2,560,419

.LATERALLY MOVABLE CAR DOOR Filed Aug. 11, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Y'SLMv QLZ@442.v

Patented July 10, 1951 LATEBALLY MQVABLE CAR DOUR Frank Ditchfield, Cleveland, ()hio', assignor to The Youngstown Steel Door Company, Cleveland; Ohio, a corporation of Uhio Application August 11, 1945, Serial No. 610,315

Claims. 1

This invention relates to laterally movable car doors.

It is an object of this invention to provide laterally movable car doors which shall be readily operable-from both the ground and platforms.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors which shall permit the application of a greater force to move the doors into and out of their door openings.

A further object is toprovide laterally movable car doors which shall be supported upon bodily movable anti-friction means during movement toward and away from the cars and along door supporting tracks.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors'embodying leverage means which shall automatically increase the effective force for mov-- ing the doors into their door openings as the doors approach their fully closed position.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors wherein the projection of the doors outwardly of the carside is reduced when the doors are in open position.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors which shall obtain a reduction in the length of door track.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors which shall be supported upon bodily movable anti-friction means during movement toward and away from the cars and along door supporting tracks wherein the anti-friction means shall be automatically positioned for proper rolling movement along the track.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors which shall be supported for movement upon freely rolling balls automatically disposed in proper position as the door is moved to closed position.

A further object is to provide laterally movable car doors operable toward and away from the car by mechanism embodying a horizontally disposed bar rotatably mounted on the doors and a transverselyswingable handle swingable relative to the bar and adapted to be operatively connected thereto.

A. further object is to provide laterally movable car doors operable toward and away from the car by mechanism embodying a horizontally disposed bar rotatabiy mounted on the doors and a transversely swingablehandle wherein the mechanismis adapted to be lockedby means associated with a handle in suchnia-nner that the locking means does not project outwardly beyond the handle.

A further object is to provide laterally movablecar doors, which shall require fewer parts, be

sturdier in construction and more economical to' manufacture.

Other objects of the invention will become clear as the description thereof proceeds.

In the drawings forming part of this specification:

Fig. l is a fragmentary elevation of'a refrigerator carside equipped with a laterally movable door' embodying the instant invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3'3 of Fig. 1. V

Fig. 4; is an enlarged elevation of a portion of the door and adjacent carside illustrating a portion of the mechanism for moving the door into and out of the door opening.

.Fig. 5'is'a horizontal section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

' Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged elevation of a portion of the operating handle and the shaft on which it is mounted, the handle being shown disengaged from the shaft in dot and dash lines.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken on line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9' is a vertical section taken. on line 9-9 of Fig. 7. I i

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary enlarged elevation showing means for locking the lever.

Fig. 11 is an end view looking from. the left in Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a horizontal section taken. on line I2.l2 of. Fig. 1. 1

Fig. 13 is a vertical section taken on line I 3l 3 of Fig. 1.

For purposes of illustration. the instant inventionis shown applied. to a laterally movable sliding door of a refrigerator car, it being understood,

however, that the inventionis not limited to these doors but is applicable as well to laterally movable The refrigerator car,.

sliding doors ofv box cars. which is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral iii, is of well known construction so that detailed description. thereof is not necessary except insofar as it relates to the door and the operating and supporting mechanism therefor.

A door opening i I is formed in each side of the car and is defined by means of front and rear door posts l2 and IS, a door header M and a sill i5. Within the door opening H a door I6 is adapted to be received and when in its fully closed position lies flush with the outer face of the carside wall as more clearly appears from Figs. 2, 3 and 5 of the drawings. It will be apparent that while the car and the door utilize wooden members in their construction, any other material, such as steel, may be employed if desired.

In order to assume the flush position within the door opening as illustrated in the drawings, and to assume the dot and dash line position outwardly of the carside, as more clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the door I6 is supported at its bottom edge by means of a plurality of balls I! and I8 maintained in predetermined spaced relationship by means of a ball spacer 19. In its lateral movement into and out of the door opening H, the balls ride upon a plate 20 mounted upon the sill l5 and upon a track 2| secured to the outer face of the sill IS. The track 2|, moreover, supports the door for longitudinal movement upon the outside of the side wall when the door is opened and closed. During both the lateral and longitudinal movements of the door it will be apparent that the balls move bodily and in contact with the lower edge of the door which accordingly is reinforced by means of a substantially Z-shaped member 22 having a web 23 along which the balls move, an outer attaching upstanding flange 24 and a relatively short inner depending flange 25. The latter flange, as more clearly appears from Fig. 3 of the drawings, cooperates with a retaining plate 26 fastened as by means of welding to flange 24 to retain the balls and the spacer against lateral disengagement from the door. The depending flange 25 of the Z-shaped member 22 similarly cooperates with an upstanding flange 21 formed on the track for the same purpose when the door has been moved outwardly of the door open- The mechanism for accomplishing lateral movement of the door according to the instant invention embodies a horizontally disposed rectangular shaft or bar 28 mounted for rotation about its axis upon the door. For this purpose a plurality of brackets 29, 30 and 3| are fastened upon the door I6 and carry cylindrical bearings 32, 33, 34 and 35 within which the shaft is rotatable by means of bushings as indicated at 36, 31, 38 and 39 mounted upon the shaft and rotatable within the bearings.

Mounted on the ends of the shaft so as to rotate therewith and to lie beyond the vertical edges of the door are angular levers 40 and 4| which are similar in construction so that the description of the lever 40 will suffice for the description of the lever 4|. Each of these levers, as more clearly appears in Fig. 6 of the drawings, embodies a relatively long arm 42 and a relatively short arm 43. The shaft 28 extends through a rectangular opening formed in the lever 40 in the angle formed by the arms 42 and 43 and the levers are retained upon the ends of the shaft by means of a plate member 44 riveted to the longer arm 42 as indicated at 45 and extending into a cope 46 formed in the shaft. A roller 41 is rotatably mounted upon the end of each of the arms 42 and a roller 48 is mounted upon the end of each of the arms 43.

In order to impart rotation to the shaft 28 a handle 49 is provided. At its upper end the handle is formed with a projecting flange 50 which is pivotally mounted in offset relationship to the axis of the handle between the jaws of a clevis 5| mounted upon the bushing 31 so as to be rotatable relative to the shaft. In order to drawings.

connect the handle 49 to the shaft 28 in operative relationship therewith a clevis 52 is mounted upon the shaft 28 so as to be rotatable therewith. When in operative engagement with the shaft the upper end of handle 49 is disposed between the jaws 53 and 54 of clevis 52 so that movement of the handle transversely of the door will impart rotation to the shaft. Upon disengagement of the handle from the clevis 52 it will swing about its pivotal connection with clevis 5| and be incapable of imparting rotation to the shaft.

Rotation of the shaft by means of handle 49 imparts rotation to the angular levers 4|] and 4| which by their association with brackets 55 and 56 impart lateral movement to the door into or out of the door opening These brackets, which are substantially similar in construction so that the description of one of them will be adequate for the other, are disposed within the door posts I2 and l3 so as to lie flush with the outer face of the posts and the carside.

Each of these brackets embodies a vertical inner wall 51 which, as more clearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, is inclined outwardly from top to bottom. Attaching ears 58 and 59 extend above and below the wall 51 and provide means for securing the brackets to the door post as by means of bolts 69 and 6|. Side walls 62 and 63 extend outwardly from the inner Wall 51 and the side wall 63 is formed with a front wall 64 extending toward and terminating short of the side wall 62 as more clearly appears in Fig. 4 of the The latter wall is provided with attaching cars 65 and 66 through which bolts 61 and 68 are adapted to extend in order to fasten the brackets to the door posts. The side wall 62 is also provided with spaced parallel inclined walls 69 and 10 which, as more clearly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, are connected at their inner ends and provide an outwardly opening pocket in which a roller 48 is adapted to be received for a purpose hereinafter explained. As clearly appears from Fig. 6 of the drawings, the outer wall 64 terminates intermediate the ends of the inner wall 5! so as to provide openings II and 12 for a purpose which is later explained.

The door is shown in its fully closed position in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The position of the operating handle 49 when the door is closed is clearly shown in this figure and the relationship between the angular levers 40 and 4| and the brackets 55 and 56 is clearly shown in full lines in Fig. 6 of the drawings. In order to move the door so as to expose the door opening, lateral movement is first imparted thereto, this movement taking place upon the supporting balls I! and I8. To impart lateral movement to the door the locking means for the locking handle, hereinafter described, is released and the handle, being disposed between the jaws of the clevis 52 and therefore in operative engagement with shaft 28, is swung upwardly in order to impart rotation to the shaft and through it to the angular levers 40 and 4|.

During the initial rotation of the angular levers the rollers 48 on the shorter arms 43 bear against the lower inclined wall 10 and impart a thrust to the door, moving the latter outwardly from the door opening to the extent permitted by these arms. It will be apparent that by reason of the shortness of these arms a relatively large leverage is obtained for this portion of the lateral movement of the door so as to insure that the door will be disengaged from the packing or sealing tion, secured around the door opening.

During the period in which the shorter arms dd are effective the longer arm G2 are ineffective and merely rotate with the shaft so as to move the rollers i'l through thespace ll into engagement with the inner vertical wall El. time the shorter arms have accomplished their purpose and; continuing rotation of the shaft 28 by means of the operating handle id causes the longer arms 2 to become effective and the rollers M to bear'against and roll down the inner walls 57' in order to continue the outward lateral movement of the door.

During the'eifective period of the arms $2, the shorter arms 2-3 and the rollers dd move outwardly from between the walls 69 and iii and outwardly of thecar wall. Finally, the rollers d! are moved out of. engagement with the brackets '55 and 55- through' the spacel?! and are disposed outwardly of the inner face of the door so as to avoid contact between them and the outer face of the carside as the door is moved longitudinally along the track.

When the door has been moved laterally to its fully outward position the operating handle '49 is disengaged from the jaws of the clevis 52 permitted to swing upon its pivotal connection with the clevis 52 so as to assume the position shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 7 of the drawin s. This occurs because the clevis 5| will swing relative to the shaft 28 without imparting guided outwardly during this movement by means of a plurality of angle guides ZS-J3, the hori zontal leg ll- 5 of which is fastened to the upper edge of the. door as by means of screws '55-. The

upstanding leg E5 of each of the angle guides during this movement moves within slots ll formed in the header i i. In this manner the upper edge of the door is properly guided both in its inward and outward movements in the door opening.

The outward movement is limited by engagement of the vertical l e with the depending flange l9 of a substantiall Z-shaped retaining l astened to the outer face of header i i. Tl'iese flanges cooperate, moreover, in

ing the upper edgeof the door during its lon tudinal-moveinent upon the track 2 5.

By reason of the fact that the door is s ported upon freely rolling balls H and iiithe invention the use of a supper.

which is subs antially only one half to length of track which would otherwise be required. As more clear y in Fig. l of th drawings, the track isnot extended to the front door post is non 154115 required but ter '1 substantially ray of the r "es of the door when the latter is closed. If desired, a small braoizet Bi may be utilized at the lower front corner of the door in order to prevent possible teetering thereof when in closed position.

Similarly, the rear edge of the track does not extend substantially tothe back steps -82 and 83 but: terminates approximately midway between At this the door openin the vertical edges of the door. when the latter is:

If desired; a bracket '84 may beutilized atthe lowerrear corner of the door when fully opened.

open to prevent possible teetering thereof.

Moreover, the formation of the track issuch that in cooperation with the door displacement of the balls I? and i8 and the-ball spacer it when the door is open or closed is avoided. For this purpose the ends of the track are flanged upwardly as indicatedat t5 and 86 and the lowercorners of the door are provided with depending flanges dl and 86; clearly appears from-Fig. 1 of the drawings, when the door is fully closed the said end of the ball spacer lies adjacent to the upstanding'ilange 35 of the track which prevents movement of the spacer and the balls toward the left At this time the depending flange 88 at the lower rear corner of the door lies adjacent to the ball spacer is and prevents movement thereof and the balls toward the right. Thus the balls and the spacer are fully confined and the balls will be immediately effective for rolling. engagement with the door and the track when the door is opened.

Similarly, when the'door is in full open position the rear end of the ball spacer it will lie adjacent to the upstanding track flange 53% and the forward. end of the ball spacer will lie adjacent to the depending door flange 8i so that the spacer and the balls are again confined against movement relative to the door and'track.

Means is also provided by the invention for insuring that the balls ll andv it will be properly alined in parallel relationship to the outer face of the door when the door is in its fully closed position. For this. purpose the side sillplate 2a is provided with a of upstanding lugs, one of which is ihdicatedat 89. These lugs are sov located upon the sill plate that each of them lies adjacent to one of the balls El and i3 when the door is fully closed.

Thus when the door has been moved longitudinally upon the track 25 to a position overlying the door opening it is then forced laterally into .ie door opening by the mechanism above described. During this lateral movement of the door the balls and the spacer move laterally from track. 25 onto the sill plate 2%. In the event that the hall spacer'has become inclined relative to the outer face of the door during this movement so that the balls are not properly alined, one end of the ball spacer will contact one of the lugs, such as 89, so that the lateral movement of this end and of the ball adjacent thereto will be arrested by the lug. Lateral movement of the other end of the spacer and of the other ball, however, will continue until the other end of the spacer is arrested by the other lug. At time the balls are properly alined.

To impart inward lateral movem nt to the door the operating handle id is swung together with the clevis 5i about the shaft 2% so that the handle may be disposed between the jaws of the clevis 52, thereby establishing operative engagement between handle and the sh it 23. T e handle is then pulled downwardly rotation is iparte-i to the shaft 28 and to the angu lar levers it and M. This rotation of the angular levers causes the rollers t? on the longer arms $2 to enter the brackets and 5a through the spaces 72 between the lower end of walls 63 and the inner walls 5?. Continued rotation of the shaft and the angular levers effects contact between the rollers ll and the inner face of the walls 6%, thereby forcing the door laterally into During this movement a rela-- tively small force is required inasmuch as the weight of the doors is supported upon the balls and the door has not as yet come into contact with the sealing means around the door opening.

Just prior to the time when contact between the door and the sealing means is established the rollers 48 engage the upper inclined walls 69 and the rollers 4! are disengaged from the walls 64. The force applied to the operating handle 49 is thereby transferred from the longer arms 42 to the shorter arms 43 so that a far greater effective leverage for the final inward lateral movement of the door is obtained and the resistance offered to such movement by the compression of the packing material is easily overcome. During the final lateral movement of the door the rollers 4'! pass outwardly through the spaces H so as to lie outwardly of the brackets 55 and 56.

The door is now in its fully closed position and locked therein by means so devised which does not increase the projection of the mechanism beyond the outer face of the door. This locking means which is shown in greater detail in Figs. 10 and 11 of the drawings embodies a bracket 90 fastened to the door and provided with outwardly extending spaced vertical lugs 9i and 92. The lug 92 carries a pair of spaced cars 93 and 94 between which one end of a locking member 95 is pivotally supported as by means of a rivet 96. The operating handle 49 is formed with an elongated slot 9! through which the locking member :95 is adapted to extend in order to fasten the handle to the door. The locking member 95 is adapted to be received within a bifurcation 98 formed in lug 8| and to be sealed to the bracket. For the latter purpose alined slots 99 and H10 are formed in the locking member and in a horizontally disposed lug l! carried by the bracket lug 9|. It is apparent from the foregoing that the locking means for the operating handle does not project outwardly beyond the outer face of the handle.

It will be observed from Fig. 3 of the drawings that when the door is closed the center of gravity of the door lies inwardly of the supporting balls I! and I8 so the door is biased inwardly. Similarly, when the door has been moved out of the door opening, as shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 3, its center of gravity lies outwardly of the balls so that the door is constantly biased away from the side wall of the car during its longitudinal movements along the track.

It will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications in the details of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. It is intended, therefore, that all such modifications and changes be comprehended within this invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a railway house car having a wall provided with a door opening, a door mounted on said car for movement along a track and toward and away from said door opening, a horizontally extending rotatable shaft on said door, a vertically swingable handle operatively engaging said shaft to impart rotation thereto, angularly related arms of unequal length mounted on each end of said shaft for rotation therewith, and means fastened to said wall, said arms having sequential engagement with said means to force said door into and away from said door opening upon rotation of said shaft, the shorter of said arms initially engaging said means to impart outward movement to said door and also finally.

engaging said means to impart inward movement to said door.

2. In a railway house car having a wall provided with a door opening, a door mounted on said car for movement along a track and toward and away from said door opening, a horizontally extending rotatable shaft on said door, a vertically swingable handle operatively engaging said shaft to impart rotation thereto, angularly related arms of unequal length mounted on each end of said shaft for rotation therewith, a recess formed in said wall on each said of said door opening, and a member secured in each recess, each of said members having inner walls and transversely spaced outer walls, said arms having sequential engagement with said inner walls and opposite sequential engagement with said outer walls upon rotation of said shaft, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a railway house car having a wall provided with a door opening, a door mounted on said car for movement along a track and toward and away from said door opening, a horizontally extending rotatable shaft on said door, a vertically swingable handle operatively engaging said shaft to impart rotation thereto, angularly related arms of unequal length mounted on each end of said shaft for rotation therewith, a recess formed in said wall on each side of said door opening, and a member secured in each recess, each of said members having inner walls and longitudinally spaced outer walls spaced transversely from said inner walls, said arms having sequential engagement with said inner walls and opposite sequential engagement with said outer walls upon rotation of said shaft, said arms entering said members through the space between said outer walls.

4. In a railway house car having a wall provided with a door opening, a door mounted on said car for movement along a track and toward and away from said door opening, a horizontally extending rotatable shaft on said door, a vertically swingable handle operatively engaging said shaft to impart rotation thereto, angularly related arms of unequal length mounted on each end of said shaft for rotation therewith, a recess formed in said wall on each side of said door opening, and a member secured in each recess, each of said members having inner walls and transversely spaced outer walls, each of said arms embodying a longitudinally offset roller, said rollers having sequential engagement with said inner walls and opposite sequential engagement with said outer walls upon rotation of said shaft, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a railway house car having a wall provided with a door opening, a door mounted on said car for movement along a track and toward and away from said door opening, a horizontally extending rotatable shaft on said door, a vertically swingable handle operatively engaging said shaft to impart rotation thereto, angularly related arms of unequal length mounted on each end of said shaft for rotation therewith, a recess formed in said wall on each side of said door opening, and a member secured in each recess, each of said members having inner walls and longitudinally spaced outer walls spaced transversely from said inner walls, each of said arms embodying a longitudinally offset roller, said rollers having sequential engagement with said inner walls and opposite sequential engagement with said outer walls upon rotation of said shaft, for the purpose set forth, said outer walls which are engaged by the rollers of said longer arms terminating below the top of said member.

6. In a railway house car having a wall provided with a door opening, a door mounted on said car for movement along a track and toward and away from said door opening, a horizontally extending rotatable shaft on said door, angularly related arms of unequal length mounted on each end of said shaft for rotation therewith, means fastened to said wall, said arms having sequential engagement with said means to force said door into and away from said door opening upon rotation of said shaft, a handle, means mounting said handle upon said shaft for transverse vertical swinging movement relative thereto, and means mounted upon said shaft for rotation therewith, said handle being engageable with said latter means to impart rotation to said shaft.

7. In a railway house car having a wall provided with a door opening, a door mounted on said car for movement along a track and toward and away from said door opening, a horizontally extending rotatable shaft on said door, angularly related arms of unequal length mounted on each end of said shaft for rotation therewith, means fastened to said wall, said arms having sequential engagement with said means to force said door toward and away from said door opening upon rotation of said shaft, a collar rotatably mounted on said shaft, a clevis mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, and a handle pivotally mounted on said collar, said handle being engageable with said clevis to impart rotation to said shaft.

8. In a railway house car having a wall provided with a door opening, a door mounted on said car for movement along a track and toward and away from said door opening, a horizontally extending rotatable shaft on said door, a vertically swingable handle operatively engaging said shaft to impart rotation thereto, angularly related arms of unequal length mounted on each end of said shaft for rotation therewith, means fastened to said wall, said arms having sequential engagement with said means to force said door toward and away from said door opening upon rotation of said shaft, and means for holding said door in said opening, said means comprising a bracket secured to said door, a member pivotally mounted on said bracket and swingable in a plane parallel to said door through an opening formed in said handle, a bifurcated flange extending outwardly from said bracket, said member being received in the bifurcation of said flange, said bracket having a flange disposed below said member, and sealing slots formed in said latter flange and member.

9. In a railway house car having a wall provided with a door opening, a door mounted on said car for movement along a track and toward and away from said door opening, a horizontally extending rotatable shaft on said door, a vertically swingable handle operatively engaging said shaft to impart rotation thereto, a variable leverage lever mounted on each end of said shaft for rotation therewith and means fastened to said wall, said levers having difierent lever arms successively engaging said means and applying forces of different intensities to said door to force the door out of said door opening, said lever arms also successively engaging said means and applying forces of different intensities to said door for force the door into said door opening.

10. In a railway house car having a wall provided with a door opening, a door mounted on said car for movement along a track and toward and away from said door opening, a horizontally extending rotatable shaft on said door, a vertically swingable handle operatively engaging said shaft to impart rotation thereto, a variable leverage lever mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, and means fastened to said wall, said lever having different lever arms successively engaging said means and applying forces of different intensities to said door to force the door out of said door opening, said lever arms also successively engaging said means and applying forces of different intensities to said door to force the door into said door opening.

FRANK DITCHFIELD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,219,059 Wieseckel et al Mar. 13, 1917 1,242,001 Lester Oct. 2, 1917 1,982,270 Tobin NOV. 27, 1934 2,204,753 Dwyer June 18, 1940 2,405,887 Hoffman Aug. 13, 1946 

